Day 4: Teotihuacan

  Mexico City, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, Mexico
Saturday, October 4, 2008

another couple in the hostel had gone here yesterday, and through aarons advice, we delayed our travels onto our next destination and decided to go and see mexico cities`own pyramids.

aaron had been great.  he emailed the next few places we had reservations with, and re booked us for a few days time, and showed us where we could get our night bus, and how much etc.  he was a great landlord, and if they are all going to be like this, then i feel very safe.

rucsacks were re-packed..how come they weight so much more the second time, and you cant squeeze everthing into them.  and all i have bought has been a shell necklace.. and i `m even wearing that! loaded up i felt like i was going to fall over:side ways!  matt even has an emergency grab and hold position practiced incase i fall off the beaten track as they say!

a quick stop at the local market again for my daily intake of fruit, and we catch a short bus and metro ride to the main bus terminal that we will be catching today`s bus from, and our night bus to oaxaca.  we lose about 200 stone by dropping off our rucsacs at a lock in, and catch the 1 hour bus ride for a couple of quid to the pyramids (Teotihuacan).

on our way we go through some of the poorest areas in mexico city, where the houses are built of whatever they can get there hands on.  it makes you feel very very grateful for what you have, and has started to make me question exactly what i hoped it would....do i need such expensive materialistic things?

you dont see anything, until you arrive through the sites gates, and then pop, up looms some stunning pyramids.  you walk in and enter a square `citadel`.  this is where they must have had some crazy parties in the time around 200BC!  yes, it feels so surreal, that people actually were here that long a go.  the square is surronded by a few small pyramid platforms, with a larger one at the far end.  unfortunately some of the earlier preservations in the early 1920`s have used quite a lot of cement, and therefore some of it looks a little modeern.  still beautiful.  there is one small pyramid dwelling in this square which has been left as it was, and is covered.  the paintings on the wall blew my mind... dulex need to get shares in this non-peeling paint!

behind this square , and on climbing the main pyramid you are rewarded with the `temple of quetzalcoatl`` which has stunning carved work in its stone.

temple of quetzalcoatl

most of it drawn of himself, or of a mythical serpent (mumsie..you wouldnt be too scared) which is meant to represent earth, water and fertile land.  this pyramid would have worshipped.

you then step out onto the avenue of the dead.

avenue of the dead

yes i know!  i hope we dont come down with the plague or something. it is about 2km long ( so far discovered) and runs all the way to the main moon pyramid.  on the way you pass further small pyramids used for worship, and villages where the high priests would have lived and worked etc.  i wandered off alone to explore and found myself walking into a pyramid.

inside one of the pyramids

you could practically smell them at work, and could see the paintings on the wall. so amazing and very surreal.

the paint work!

on finding matt, he seemed gutted, but we still had quite a walk until the pyramid of the sun.  so off we hiked.  the pyramid of the sun is 60m high, and 200m wide around its base, with 5 levels.

the sun pyramid

a lot of lactic acid, heavy breathing, and crawling on our hands and knees in the steep places matt and i gave each other a high 5.  this is exactly what we came for.

we amde the climb!

the stone work

lunch, a few sketches later and we are heading back down the steep slopes.  the views are amazing.  you can see for miles.  the people who were actually allowed to climb these pyramids in their day were very important, thats for sure!  when did i suddenly get scared of falling?  i am so happy and up for running and jumping.  i mean i really would like to sky dive and maybe base jump (yes dad, i am insured!) this trip, but actually fallin made me a but nervous of the descent.  the helped me out by placing huge jagged rocks down the sides.  your choice to either grab hold of, or dislocate your shoulder on.

the pyramid of the moon was equally as fantastic, and you were able to see all the way down the avenue of death.  you can only climb so far up the pyramid as it has been left just as it was found... as i like it.

avenue of the dead from the moon pyramid

we decide we dont want to be heading back into town too late, so we catch our bus back into the city.  hoping we will be able to entertain ourselves over the 6 hour wait till our night bus by going on the internet.....but its closed!  after asking around we are advised to head a few blocks down, but after scaring ourselves in the close proximity of the bus station, we buy some fruit, and shuffle back into the safety of the well lit and policed bus station.

we somehow manage to stay sane the 6 hours by singing, reading, swapping tales, eating and even a bit of dancing curtesy of myself.  we realize there is probably going to be a lot of waiting around during this trip..so we might aswell practice.  matt is cool.  he understands how much i miss my family, friends, and particularly my fiancee, that he just smiles when he sees me kiss my photos one more time.

11.30 p.m. arrives and we hop on our first class bus to oaxaca.  i feel safe as we get videoed going on, and our bags are checked.   i snuggle into my blankie, and fall a peeps, hoping to wake 6 in 6 hours time in our new city.